Kryptonite
by jaa162
Summary: "If I go crazy, then will you still call me Superman?"- 3 Doors Down. 4 years later, Melanie Monetgomery, Steve's cousin, recollects her memories from her senior year. The year he got superpowers and everything changed.
1. The Prologue

**Prologue**

**(Recorded at 3:15 pm, March 16 2016)**

"_**I would love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass."**_

_**-Maya Angelou**_

That has been my life's motto since I was 10 years old. Until now, that is. Everything changed when my cousin, Steve, and our friends, Andrew and Matt, found that weird hole in the ground, and got superpowers. It was cool at first, but then, everything went to hell. It all happened so fast that sometimes I can only remember flashes of it all. Thank goodness for Andrew's camera, or I wouldn't have even believed it had happened at all.

I was behind the camera most of the time, watching it all unfold, like an audience in a movie theater. But now I think it's time to tell my side of the story, the one that no one knows about. It was mainly Matt's idea to erase me from all of the footage, so that I could go on with a normal life, but life, especially mine, has never been normal.

**AN: I loved Chronicle, it was so original and not corny or lame. I saw this at the movies, and I'm currently trying to track down the movie script to help me along with this story. But for now, I'm using YouTube and Wikipedia as references.**


	2. Chapter 1: The Hole

**Chapter 1**-The Hole

"Steve, that girl, Moesha, Tequila, or whatever, is calling…again," I said in an irritated voice as I knocked on his bedroom door.

It was almost time to go to school, but Steve's girlfriend, or ex-girlfriend since he had so many that I could never keep up, was once again calling our house. Being was great for him and all, but not for me, since I usually had to deal with all of his exes and/or admirers whenever they called or stalked him at school.

Steve opened the door slightly and whispered, "Tell her I'm not here. No, tell her…that I moved to Canada. And died."

I rolled my eyes. "Really Steve? How are you going to explain that to whatshername when she sees you in school today?"

He shrugged, "I'll just tell her that I came back from the dead. Then, maybe she'll freak out enough to leave me alone."

I just scoffed at him and hung up the phone. "Steve, you really have to do something about all these girls. I'm not your freaking secretary."

"Yeah, but, Mel, you're my cousin. You're supposed to help me out," Steve said as he finished putting on his shirt and walked downstairs. I followed out the door with an armful of "Vote for Steve!" flyers and posters.

Steve and I were more than cousins, more like brother and sister. I had been living with his family since the 9/11 attacks that killed my mother and caused my father to deploy overseas to Afganistan. Now, he was living in Germany with his new fiancée and her two kids. I only visited him during the summer and winter breaks, but Skyped him twice a week since we were planning on him coming over for my graduation.

I snapped out of my thoughts when my uncle dropped us off at school since Steve's car was still in the shop. We had took it for a late-night joy ride a week ago, and we ended up crashing it into a neighbor's mail box on the way back home. Luckily, we were okay, but by the next morning, our ears were still ringing from all of the screaming from BOTH of our dads.

I handed Steve his stuff and disappeared into the crowd before he could ask me to hand them out. He had enough groupies as it is; he could get some of them to do it.

Right when I turned a corner, I heard laughing and a camera, like the kind they use on tv and movies, slide right past my feet. I picked it up since it looked relatively new.

I checked it for any damage and noticed Andrew Detmer walk up to me. "Is this yours?" I asked.

"Yeah, thanks. Those guys took it from me." He took the camera and I shivered slightly when our hands touched for a brief minute.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I began to open my locker and take out my Pre-Cal textbook.

"Yeah, we're good," Andrew replied as he checked his camera again.

Xxx

Even though Steve is cousin and all, I don't have that many friends. After my mother's death and my father being gone all the time, I sort of shut down emotionally. Then, I was tramatized when a substitute teacher locked me in the bathroom in 4th grade. Since then, I had always had this tantalizing fear of the dark. It had gotten better since I had been to therapy and all.

Casey Letter was one of the few people who knew that. She was someone who I could call a "good friend". She was always bubbly and perky, but smarter than the rest of the bimbos at this school. We took Video Communications together, and I was helping her with her online blog as my senior project.

"I think it's nice what you're doing, Casey. At least, you're not making a fool out of yourself or talking in a high squeaking voice," I commented as we uploaded a new video on her website.

She laughed at my Fred reference. "Yeah, I know. I figured that it would be good to help people in need you know? That's what we should make videos about; how to help people in need, not how to score a record deal or become famous."

"Hey, it worked for Justin Bieber."

Xxx

At lunch, I sat on the bleachers outside with Andrew. Yes, he was an interesting choice for a friend, but we had known each other since we were kids. I had even beat up a kid in middle school when he stole an ice cream that I had bought for Andrew. Since then, we stuck together like peanut butter and jelly.

Andrew propped his camera up a stand, and pressed the record button. "So this is where I eat lunch-"

"What are you doing?" I interrupted as I took a bite of my sandwich.

"I don't know, really, just recording. Is it weird?"

"No, I mean, it kinda is. But it's interesting. Like you." I made sure to mumble the last part so that he wouldn't hear it.

"Hey, you wanna watch something funny?"

I nodded as Andrew pressed some buttons on his camera. All of sudden, his cousin, Matt, came up on the small side screen, singing Jessie J's "Price Tag".

I laughed so hard that I had to clutch my stomach, especially when I heard Andrew protesting. Andrew laughed along with me, his light blue eyes sparkling (can guys eyes sparkle?) with a happiness that I hadn't seen in a while. I began singing along with Matt's voice, making sure that I was way off-key. Andrew laughed even harder so that tears were coming out of his eyes.

There were some cheerleaders rehearsing nearby, and they kept glaring at us every now and then. I wondered what their problem was, until one of them, one of Steve's nicer exes, came over to ask Andrew to stop recording them.

Xxx

"Please tell me why you dragged me into this?" I asked Steve as we walked through the dark forest, branches crunching under our feet.

I was wearing a simple navy blue sundress with a small sweater since it was cool out. Steve had brought me along to another party, hoping that I would expand my social circle. I went along to make him happy, but I would rather be at home in my room, watching _Jersey Shore_ or something.

"I got a text from Joe. He said that everybody was here," he said as he put his hand on my back to guide me through the woods.

We looked down and saw a whole bunch of kids surrounding a giant hole. "What the hell? What's so great about a stupid hole?"

"Let's check it out," Steve said as he helped me down into the clearing.

When we got closer, we realized that there was some strange noise. It was coming from the hole. Someone bumped into me, and I noticed that it was Matt, Andrew's cousin.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered.

"Oh, hey, Melanie.I followed some people out here after I lost Andrew in the crowd."

"Wait, Andrew's here? Where is he?" I glanced around, and my heart sank when I noticed he wasn't there.

Later on, a few people left, obviously creeped out, but Matt, Steve, and I stayed. Then, Matt and I sent Steve to find Andrew so that he could record what we found.

"Hey!" Steve called out from the hill. There was a bright light emitting from his back, and it was Andrew with his camera. _Seriously, what was up with him and that dang camera?_

Matt waved his arms, and I waved my hand nonchantly. "Cmon, let's go, let's go, let's go!" Matt yelled, motioning for them to come down.

Steve and Matt were clearly excited, but it was clear on Andrew's face that he thought the same thing that I did: _What the hell what we doing here?_

Steve got down on his stomach and leaned in closer to the hole. Matt did the same, and then, a louder noise, like a howl, originated from the hole. I stepped back a little, very freaked out now.

"Okay, this is weird. I think we should leave," I spoke up as I crossed my arms to protect myself from the chilly breeze.

Steve rolled his eyes at me and stuck his tongue out as he jumped down into the hole like a ninja. Matt climbed down after him, and Andrew and I started calling their names, begging them to come back up.

"Steven Edward Montgomery, if you don't come out of that hole, if you don't die first, I will go down there and cut off your testicels!" I yelled into the empty dark space.

Matt laughed, and I heard him ask, "Your middle name is Edward?"

There was more mumbling and Steve shouted back, "I'd like to see you try!"

Andrew yelled, "C'mon, guys, stop playing around! Matt, c'mon, you're my ride home!"

Finally, he sighed and inched slowly down into the hole. He stopped and turned back to me.

"Are you coming?"

I shook my head. "I have this thing about weird holes and the weird sounds that come out of them."

Andrew nodded and continued on. I sighed and began playing Angry Birds on my Iphone.

Suddenly, there was this weird howling noise and I heard the boys screaming and yelling at each other as the noise grew louder and louder. I felt a sharp pain began to manifest inside my head and soon my eyesight began to blur.

I felt myself become dizzy and that's when everything went black.

**AN: I'm working on Chapter 2, but college is pretty hecti**c. **Please review****! I take honest critism, but I do NOT take flames.**


	3. Chapter 2: Vision

**AN: Thanks to **NoelAnderson, hideandseek43, Azula Malfoy, and open-heart **for reviewing the first chapter of this fic. Thanks a lot! And thanks to those that also fav/story alerted this fic as well. To answer **NoelAnderson's **question, I will follow the movie, but there will be a few curveballs thrown into the mix, so it isn't an exact retelling of the story, since I really hate retellings. Here's Chapter 2! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2**-Vision

None of us knew what had happened to us that night, except that we were different. Well, the boys were different. I was the only one who was still normal, even though I had been affected too.

Matt theorized it was because I didn't have direct contact with the glowing rock thing like they did. Maybe. But I liked being the normal one, the one to put things into perspective and whatnot.

Today, though, we were meeting up at Matt's house, so the boys could test out their new powers. I was going to hold Andrew's camera, even though he had managed to make it stand up on its own. It was cool and weird at the same time.

I grabbed a baseball and handed it to Steve as I sat down next to Andrew on the patio. He smiled at me and pressed the record button.

Steve and Matt positioned themselves in the middle of the lawn, and Steve announced, "So this is the ball test."

Then, he hit Matt in the face with the baseball. Andrew and Steve cracked up laughing, but I ran out onto the lawn to check out Matt's face. A red spot was now forming on the left side of his face.

"WHAT THE HELL STEVE!" I yelled and proceeded to punch my cousin in the arm.

"Man, I'm sorry, are you okay?" Steve asked Matt while trying to keep from laughing again.

Matt waved him off like, _"I hate you now. Get away from me."_

A short while later, it was Matt's turn, and Steve was standing in the spot where Matt was previously.

Steve kept jumping up and down, like a kid in an amusement park, and I smirked, "If you have to use the bathroom, we can wait."

Steve stopped moving and rolled his eyes at me. Andrew and Matt started laughing. "Shut up," Steve glared, but he was smirking too.

Matt turned toward us and asked, "Are you ready?" We nodded.

In one quick motion, Matt threw the ball to the right, and then it flew back around and hit Steve, knocking him straight to the ground.

The rest of us started laughing and Matt started jumping around hollering, "And the crowd goes wild!"

"Are you okay Steve?" I asked between gasps of breath. Steve stood up slowly nodding his head and rubbing his face. Then, he flashed Matt his middle finger, which sent us into hysterics.

Finally, it was Andrew's turn, and Steve took his place beside me. I held the camera though, as Steve urged Matt to aim the ball at Andrew's face.

Matt, grinning, threw the ball, but Andrew used his powers to stop it right before it hit his face. I nearly dropped the camera from amazement and shock, and Matt and Steve ran toward Andrew.

The ball was hovering inches from his face. "Okay, that is crazy!" I yelped.

Suddenly, blood started to come out of Andrew's nose, and I grabbed the ball. We all looked at each other as we walked back into the house.

It was only the beginning.

Xxx

Later that night, I heard voices coming from Steve's room. I knocked on the door, and saw Matt and Andrew there sitting on Steve's bed.

"Where have you guys been?" I asked as I plopped down onto the bed, Indian-style.

"We went to check out the hole, but the cops were there," Steve said as he twirled his cell in his hands.

"It was pointless since the hole had caved in," Andrew spoke up.

"Were you guys trying to get MORE power?"

"We thought it would help with the nosebleeds," Andrew explained quietly.

Suddenly, I felt this weird numbness in my head, and my vision went cloudy. Then, the scene changed in front of me:

"_No, you have to give me a countdown, you just can't-UGH!" Matt yelped as Andrew smashed a fork on his hand._

_Then, he held it up, and the tongs were all bent, but Matt's hand was fine. _

In an instant, the numbness went away, and I was back in Steve's bedroom. Except that I was facing the ceiling, with three teenaged boys hovering over my face with worried expressions. I felt something wet on my face, and touched my lip. It was blood.

"What happened?" I asked as I began to sit upright.

The boys exchanged glances and Steve said, "You tell us. You were sitting there, and then you fell over. We thought you fainted but your eyes were still open."

Matt handed me a napkin from Steve's desk, and replied, "Yeah, we were freaking out. We thought you had died or something."

Andrew didn't say anything, he just stared at me for a while, before he reached over to pat my hand. I looked at all of their faces, Andrew's the longest, while trying to figure how to explain that I think I had a vision. _Of the future_.

_**But how do you explain that to anybody?**_

**AN:Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 3: TelekinesisPsychic

**AN: So thanks to clw317, theapexpredat0r, and outsider83 for reviewing the last chapter. I wanna thank everyone else for their fav/story alerts! So yeah, I wrote this chapter in a hurry so its not as good as I wanted it to be, but I hope you like it! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 3**-Telekenesis/Psychic

"_**The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned."**_

_**-Maya Angelou **_

**(Recorded at 12:45 pm, March 18, 2016)**

When I had my first "vision", you can bet it scared the crap out of me. I didn't know how to explain it, or if I could control it. The boys' powers increased the more they practiced, but I was unsure about mine, since it was more of a 'come and go' thing. So, in the meantime, I helped the guys with their powers while I tried to figure out my own. I did confide in one person at first…

Xxx

_Present Day_

"So you had a-a vision? Like you saw the future?" Andrew asked me as we took a walk down my street. We were heading to the house, well more like behind the house, that I lived in with my parents when I was younger. And once again, Andrew had his damn camera with him.

The house's backyard opened up into the woods, and Andrew and I would play hide-and-seek in there. Our dads even built us a tree house a short distance away from the house. Once every month, we would go there and just remember when life was easier when we were kids. My mom alive, his mom cancer-free, and my dad here with me, and his dad off of the bottle…

"Yeah, I think so. Didn't you see my face when you hit Matt's hand with that fork?" Andrew nodded.

"Has it happened again?" He asked as we slipped into the woods unnoticed.

"No, not yet, anyway. I'm trying to figure out if I can control it, like you guys can, but so far, nothing. I think it just happens randomly, like winning the lottery. I'm just scared what might happen to me if I have another vision."

"Like what?"

"That I might pass out in the middle of class, or in the hallway, or even worse, in my lunch. I mean, how embarrassing is that? Plus, I might not like what I see." Andrew said nothing.

We reach the tree house, which is nestled 4 feet above ground in an old oak tree. It looks like a small hut from the outside, but it is pretty roomy on the inside. Andrew and I painted it blue and purple, his and mine favorite colors years ago, but of course, it's faded over time.

I began to climb the rope ladder, and Andrew followed. I laid my book bag on the dusty, leave-covered floor and sat in an old lawn chair of my dad's. Andrew sat across from me in a beanbag chair, looking around the room.

That's when I noticed a small bruise on his face. "Andrew, how'd you get that?" I pointed to his face.

"Oh, it's nothing," he replied quickly, trying to wipe it off as if it were a stain.

"Andrew, that is _not_ nothing. You need to go to the police, or tell Matt that your dad is hurting you. I know you don't want to, but-"

"I'm fine, Mel. Leave it alone," he growled, his light blue eyes darkening.

I stared at him, shocked at the dark tone of his voice. I sighed, and changed the subject to his mom.

"She's…I don't know. I think she's getting worse. She coughed up blood yesterday," he mumbled as he wrapped his arms around his legs.

Then, he buried his head in his lap. I knew he was crying because his body was shaking slightly. Andrew wouldn't cry in front of Steve or Matt, not wanting to appear weak, but he knew that I would understand.

I stood up, and sat down next to him before wrapping my arms around my friend. My heart went out to the poor kid; he didn't deserve this treatment from his dad, especially if his mom was dying right before their eyes.

As he cried onto my shoulder, I realized that I knew this feeling all too well, and began to sob too.

Xxx

The next day, we met up with Matt and Steve after school, and Steve defined telekinesis for us.

"Telekinesis, the ability to move, lift, vibrate; ha-ha that's my favorite-"

"You're so gross," I cut in, grimacing and shaking my head at Andrew's camera.

Steve rolled his eyes and continued, "-spin, bend, break, or impact objects through the direct influence of mental power or nonphysical means."

"Well, that sounds familiar," I commented as I kicked a rock with my converse.

"Hey, do you want to see direct influence?" Matt asked out loud. I turned my head and saw three girls talking past the fence, all wearing short skirts.

Steve and Matt winked at each other, and suddenly, a nearby leaf blower turned on, and the girls' skirts flew right up exposing their underwear. The boys cracked up and I snickered, shaking my head at them.

"Somebody's wearing black today!" Steve chimed as we walked off.

"Okay, now that was direct influence. Good thing, I decided to wear jeans today."

I saw Casey wave at me from the other side of the parking lot, her camera in her hand. "Guys, I gotta go."

"Why?" Andrew asked, practically shoving his camera right in my face.

I pushed it out of the way and answered, "I'm helping Casey with her blog as part of my senior project."

Matt whipped his head in my direction and asked, "What do you guys even talk about?"

I sighed, "Stuff. And no, we don't talk about you, Matt."

"I didn't ask if you guys talked about me. Wait, you guys _don't_ talk about me?"

"Bye, guys," I said as I took off in Casey's direction.

Xxx

When Casey went downstairs to get us some sandwiches, I went onto the internet to look up "psychic". But then, it just let me to a bunch of other words like clairvoyant, premonition, and precognition.

_**Clairvoyant-**_(_from 17th century French with Clair meaning "clear" and voyance meaning "vision") is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception. A person said to have the ability of clairvoyance is referred to as a __**clairvoyant **__("one who sees clearly")._

_**Premonition**_-_information about future events that is perceived as emotion._

_**Precognition**_- (_also called future sight and second sight) is a type of extrasensory perception that would involve the acquisition or effect of future information that cannot be deduced from presently available and normally acquired sense-based information or laws of physics and/or nature._

I texted Steve the definitions, and he called me right back. "Does this explain what happened to you the other day?"

"I think so. But I don't know. Where are you?"

"Oh, we're just having some fun, Mel. Experimenting and all that. You should've seen what I did to this lady's car-"

"Are you guys using it in public again? Steve, that could be dangerous."

"Mel, why do you have to be a buzz kill? We need to test it out, so that we can, you know, get stronger. What is that dude's problem?"

"Wha-"I heard excessive honking, and Matt and Andrew mumbling in the background. There was silence, and in an instant, Steve was screaming hysterics into my ear, clearly freaking out. Something was wrong, I could feel it.

"_Steve, what's going on_?" I had to practically yell into the phone.

"I have to call you back, Mel!" Then, he hung up.

Casey came back into the room, but I was already packing my bag to leave. "What's wrong?" she asked. She must've noticed the panicked look on my face.

"Family emergency. Gotta go. Thanks for the sandwich!" I called out as I grabbed one and flew out the door.

**AN: Please Review!**


	5. Chapter 4: Up in the Air

**AN: Here's chapter 4! There's a link on my profile if you wanna know what Melanie looks like.**

**Chapter 4**-Up in the Air

So, yeah, last night everything got pretty messed up. Apparantly, Andrew sent a guy's truck crashing into a river, and the driver is now in critical condition at the hospital. I didn't say anything to Andrew for the rest of the night since Steve and Matt did enough chewing out for all of us.

I hated to see Andrew upset, but I didn't know what to say to him, especially since I was starting to realize my growing feelings for him. They had been there for a while now, but I hadn't really thought about acting on them until the day at the treehouse when Andrew cried in my arms. Being close to him felt right, but with everything going on, being in a relationship right now might make or break things for us.

So I decided to keep that as my little secret.

Anyways, so far, I only had two more visions. The next one, I had was of Steve texting on his cell phone before he tripped down the stairs. I remember busting out laughing in class when I came to, and everyone looked at me like I had lost it.

The last one was Steve hovering outside of my window. That one didn't make any sense to me until the night Steve tapped on my window and told me that he could fly now. I seriously thought I was in the middle of a bad dream.

"Are you seriously flying now, Peter Pan?" I smirked.

"Seriously, Mel. Watch," he whispered to me since it was about 1 o'clock in the morning.

I gasped as Steve slowly rose into the air, now hovering a few feet above the roof.

"Whoa! That is the coolest thing ever!"

Steve lowered himself back down onto the small balcony outside my room, and asked, "Do you know what this means?"

"That you will save a ton of money on gas?"

Steve laughed, "Well, yes, but that we're getting stronger now. I mean, first telekinesis, and now, I can fly. We have to get Andrew and Matt on this."

The next day, Steve and I drove outside of town to an old mill. I was supposed to meet up with Casey today, so that we could finish this week's blog entry, but something came up and we had to reschedule for another time. Matt and Andrew were on their way now to meet up with us.

My heart started to speed up a little when I thought of Andrew, and so, I took a few deep breaths to slow it down. Maybe supersonic hearing could be their next power, and I didn't want any uncomfortable questions to come up whenever I was around the guys.

Steve parked the car, and stepped out. I checked the time on my phone, and when I looked up, he was gone. I grunted in annoyance and stepped out of the car.

"Steve? Steve, where are you? C'mon, don't you think we're getting a little too old for hide-and-SEEK!" I yelped as someone grabbed my hoodie and started pulling me off of the ground.

Steve laughed as I struggled against his hold before he dropped me on my butt onto the car's hood. "ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU COULD'VE KILLED ME!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Steve just laughed from his spot above my head. "Mel, calm down. I wouldn't have gone _that_ far. But you should've seen your face!"

I stuck my tongue out at him and burst out laughing with him. _Maybe I was going a little insane_.

"Here comes Andrew and Matt!" Steve said as he wrapped his arms around his head.

I waved as I saw Matt and Andrew climb out of Matt's car. "What are you doing up there?" Andrew asked me.

"Ask Steve."

"Where is Steve?" Matt asked. I pointed above my head as if were obvious.

"_Hello, boys_!" Steve called out happily.

"WHAT!" Matt chimed, amazed.

Both he and Andrew were looking beside themselves, giddy with excitement.

"How did you do that?" Andrew asked.

I slowly climbed off of the roof and went to his side to get a better view. I looked over to see Andrew sneak a quick glance at me, and I smiled.

"It's much easier than it looks, trust me," Steve answered.

Then, Matt walked over and tried to lift himself of the ground, but faceplanted on the ground instead. We broke out in laughter and walked over to check on him.

"Oooh, look whose eating dirt, Matt!" Andrew laughed.

Matt motioned for us to back up a bit as he tried to do a second attempt at flying. Then, he crashed to the ground. _Again._

"Matt, are you okay?" I asked between bursts of laughter.

"Aw, Dammit!" Matt cursed as he beat the ground with his fists.

Andrew turned to me and said, "I think I'm gonna give it a shot."

"Are you sure?" I asked as I took the camera from him.

He nodded and went to stand on the mound where Matt was. He and Matt argued for a few seconds, before a few rocks started to levitate off of the ground.

Andrew began to slowly rise into the air, and Matt yelled out, "Bullshit!" I just laughed and stared at Andrew and Steve in shock.

"Andrew, don't fart! We'll never find you again!" Matt yelled and I could barely focus the camera because I was laughing so much.

"Okay, I'm coming up!" Matt said as he tried once more to fly.

"Ooohh! Epic Fail!" I laughed as Matt's body slammed into the ground.

Xxx

"How are we gonna do this? I mean, the three of you can fly and I can't," I explained as the guys put on their winter jackets and gloves.

They were getting ready to go flying up in the clouds, and I was trying to convince them not to, since I had a 'vibe' that this might end badly.

"I'll stay here with you if you want," Andrew spoke up.

"No, you should go. You need to have some fun," I replied.

"I have an idea," Steve said as he rummaged through an old bag in the truck of his jeep. Then, he pulled out a thick cord with a hook.

"That's dad's old bungee cord. Where'd you find that?" I asked.

"I think questions are best kept for later. So, are you in Mel? Or are we gonna have to do this the hard way?" Steve asked me mischievously.

_Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut in the first place._

Xxx

"SHIT, IT'S FREEZING UP HERE! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DRAGGED ME INTO!" I screamed at Steve over the freezing cold air as we flew in and over clouds.

The boys were enjoying themselves, but I couldn't say the same since I was strapped to Steve's side. It was like being in the side car of a motorcycle, only were thousands of feet up in the air, and Steve was the pilot.

Once we had finally stopped, Steve unhooked me, and I started freaking out.

"What do you think you're doing?" I managed to ask through my icy-cold lips.

"Just trust me," Steve answered and then he let go. But I didn't fall.

I was…floating. "How?" I started to ask, but then I noticed Andrew's camera was floating too.

"Are you doing that?" I asked him.

"Both of us are," Andrew replied.

After a while, Matt and Steve started a makeshift game of aerial football, which was pretty cool to watch. Andrew and I just hung back and watched with amazement.

Then, there was this noise, like the whoosing sound of a…jet. Andrew noticed it too, because he yelled, "Hey, Matt, do you hear that?"

"Wha-" Matt started to ask, and suddenly, a jumbo jet zoomed by, slamming right into Steve.

I screamed as I started to plummet to the ground, pretty sure that I was going to die. I could hear the faraway screams of "Steve! Mel!" but I was more focused on what would happen to me once I hit the ground.

I shut my eyes and silently prayed that the others were alright, even if I didn't make it, but I hoped that I did somehow. My prayers were answered since I yelped when I felt a body collide into mine.

I didn't open my eyes yet since we were still falling, and I knew that I would lose my lunch if I saw my possible death staring at me in the face.

I felt my body hit the ground and the person rolled off of me. I opened my eyes and Steve tackled me and started hugging me.

"You're alive! We're alive! Matt, you saved my cousin!" Steve kissed both of my frozen cheeks and then went on to tackle Matt.

I was out of breath and my heart was pounding in my ears. I realized we were in a clearing and Andrew and Matt were alive and okay.

Steve was still freaking out which made me start laughing since Steve is always hilarious when he is freaking about something. Andrew and Matt started laughing too, and I just laid back onto the grass.

Andrew came over and between gasps of breath, he asked, "I'm so sorry, Mel. Are you okay?"

I nodded and reached up to touch his face. His eyes had a pained look in them, and blood was coming out of his nose. I wiped away the blood with my glove and patted his cheek with my clean gloved hand.

Then, my head started to go numb, and I knew I was having another vision:

_I was in a hospital room, and there was someone laying on the bed. _Steve_. Steve's entire body was wrapped in bandages, like a mummy almost, and there were tubes coming out of his mouth, arms, and body. _

_Behind me, Andrew was sitting in a chair, crying into his lap._

The numbness left me again, and I staring into the faces of Steve, Matt, and Andrew. Matt helped me sit up, and blood and tears were running down my face.

"Are you okay, Mel?" Matt asked me all traces of happiness gone.

I shook my head and looked at Andrew. When he tried to help me up, and I pushed his arm away and walked off.

Xxx

I wasn't sure what the vision meant, but I theorized that Andrew had hurt Steve in some way. Since he was crying, I guessed that it wasn't intentional, but still…

So while I tried to figure it out, I began to watch Andrew a little more closely. I noticed that he seemed a lot happier and confident when he was around Matt, Steve, and I, but I knew that at home, it was another story entirely.

But me avoiding him wasn't helping the situation either. However, in my absence, Steve was becoming his new best friend, and I was happy that they were getting along. Steve even told me that he had convinced Andrew to sign up for the talent show next week.

_Oh, I hope this goes well._

Xxx

The night before the big show, I decided to go to bed early to study for a test, and locked my door. An hour later, there was light tapping on my window, and I shrugged it off, thinking it was a branch or something.

"Mel, can you open the window?" I heard Andrew's voice ask from the other side.

I closed my textbook and grabbed the robe at the end of my bed. I was wearing a tank top and shorts, but I suddenly felt exposed. I wrapped myself up and opened the window.

Sure enough, Andrew was there, standing on the balcony. "What are you doing here?" I whispered.

"It's my mom. She is getting worse," he started in but I grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.

I shut the window, and sat on the bed next to him. I tried not to notice how much he smelled like Ivory soap and avoided looking him straight in the eyes.

"Isn't your dad still collecting insurance to pay for her medicine and such?" I asked staring at my hands.

"I don't know. He's always drunk, or watching TV so he doesn't do anything. I don't know if I can take it anymore," he said sadly.

I looked at his defeated form and took his hand. Then, I positioned my thumb and he followed suit.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his mouth curling up into a smile.

"I'm trying to distract you. Let's thumb wrestle. Like we used to do when we were little," I smiled at him.

"Ready?" He nodded and we started our meager game of thumb wrestling. A few minutes later, our hands got tired and sweaty so we just collapsed on my full-sized bed, staring at the ceiling.

"So Matt, Steve, and I were talking about going off to see the world when we graduate," Andrew blurted out.

"Really? Where will you guys go?"

"Steve wants to go to Maui or Hawaii so he can look at girls."

I sighed, "He's so typical. What about you? Where do you want to go?"

Andrew perked up, "I was thinking Tibet. They have Monks there, and I heard that it is really peaceful and beautiful. It would be a nice change from here."

"I bet it would be," I mumbled.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me-us. I wanted to know if you wanted to come us."

I actually thought about it before I said, "That sounds nice. But do you really want me to run away with you?"

"We were just talking about it really. You don't have to go if you don't want to-"

I placed my hand over Andrew's mouth to make him stop talking. I snuggled a little closer to him, but still maintained a short distance between our bodies.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry for ditching you these last couple of days. I was going through something, and it wasn't fair for me to avoid you like that. Will you accept my apology if you promise me something?"

He nodded and I continued, "Promise me that you won't let this get the best of you. That you won't lose control of yourself. I won't be able to be your friend anymore if you hurt one of us."

Andrew was silent for a long time, and then he said, "I forgive you, and I promise that I won't hurt you. _Ever._"

A short while later, we both fell asleep, but him shifting in the bed woke me up a bit. I realized that he was spooning me, and I felt my cheeks heat up a bit. When I tried to move away, he just pulled me closer, and I let him.

Closer to him than I've ever been, I cursed these damn teenage hormones and went back to sleep.

**AN: Please Review! I will try to get the next chapter in before the end of this week, and at least one or two more by the end of next week to hold you guys over until I go on spring break, during which I'll probably be writing the epic finale to this. I've even been brainstorming with a close friend about a possible sequel after I finish this one.**

**I have 2 questions for you guys: What do think is gonna happen between Mel and Andrew? What do you guys think of a sequel to this?**


	6. Chapter 5: Crazy, Stupid, Love

**AN: I really tried to upload this on Friday, but I was way too busy. I had algebra homework AND an essay to write. Plus, it was midterms. Anyways, here's chapter 5! Oh, and it gets a little steamy at the end, but I didn't go into detail. I DID warn you, since it is a crucial scene for the sequel. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5**-Crazy, Stupid, Love

Today, was the day of the talent show, and everyone was abuzz with excitement. Even Andrew. He and Steve had been working on his act, and I agreed to help him get ready before I met up with Casey.

However, last night hadn't made it any easier to be around him even though I was talking to him again.

"Wow, it looks good," I complemented as Andrew came out of his room in Steve's old suit. I took out a lint roller and brushed his jacket.

Andrew asked, "Are you okay?"

I shrugged, "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. You've just seem a little…"

"I'm fine, Andrew. I've just had a lot of things on my mind. Now, go show your mom my handiwork," I smiled.

Andrew walked down the hall and into his mom's room. She was lying down on the bed, but propped up slightly by pillows. I gasped at the sight of her.

Andrew's mom was so pretty, but now she looked almost like a corpse almost. She looked as if she was literally withering away. I smoothed out my blouse and jean skirt and fiddled with a curl of my hair as I walked into the room.

"What do you think?" Andrew spun around in front of her.

She smiled the best she could and said, "You look handsome. You did a great job, Melanie."

"Thank you," I said and curtsied for good measure.

That got a slight laugh out of her and she coughed out, "I mean it; you two look great. You look beautiful, Melanie."

I blushed and felt my phone vibrate in my bag. I pulled it out and saw a text from Steve. "We've got to go. Bye, Ms. Karen."

"Bye, sweetie. Take care of him for me."

Xxx

After Andrew and Steve got settled in and had to head backstage, I followed Matt through the crowd as we entered the auditorium. The place was packed with people, and I ran into Casey as I went off to get a soda.

"There you are. I've been looking for you all over the place," she said as she greeted me.

"Oh, I left my phone in Steve's car. Sorry about that," I said as we walked down the aisle.

I saw Matt set up the camera and the lights started dimming. "Are you all set?" I whispered.

He nodded and glanced at Casey, shooting her a flirtatious smile. She smiled back and I just smiled and rolled my eyes at them.

The show started and I sat on the other side of Matt. I glanced at the stage every now and then, but none of the acts interested me, so I just played Angry Birds on my phone.

Finally, Steve appeared on the stage and, as expected, everyone applauded. He was warming up the crowd so Andrew wouldn't have to.

Then, Andrew came onstage and everyone started mumbling to themselves, wondering what he was going to do. _I was wondering myself._

Andrew was clearly nervous and people started booing him after he nearly tripped onstage. I glared at them and then gasped when he began slipping cards back into his hands without touching them.

"How did he do that?" Casey asked Matt, amazed.

Matt shrugged and we exchanged glances, a smirk on both of our faces. I started clapping and cheering as the act went on. Andrew had clearly been practicing for he was juggling and levitating things with ease. Steve was also a target for a few various objects which earned some laughs from the audience.

For the last part of the act, Andrew started walking on a tightrope. I nearly stood up when he almost fell, but then, he straightened himself up and walked across it with ease.

The crowd went wild and clapped for both of them. Matt and I clapped too, pride written on our faces.

Xxx

The after-party was the talk of the school that night and I had rode over with Steve and some of his friends after the show. Everyone couldn't stop talking about Andrew, and how amazing he was. I got a little upset since I had known that all along.

However, I just grabbed a drink and went outside to sit by the pool. When Andrew showed up, it was like he was royalty of something.

"Oh, hi Casey," I said as her camera appeared to the side of my face.

"Hey. What are you doing sitting out here? I thought you would be inside with Andrew," she asked, looking at me knowingly.

"Well, _Andrew_ is the VIP, tonight, not me. Besides, he deserves to have his night. I think I'll just stay out of his way."

"C'mon, you're his friend. Don't you think you should celebrate with him?"

I sighed and then Casey grabbed my arm. She led me through the crowd and into the living room, which was filled with drunk teenagers. Matt came out of nowhere, stumbling into my back. _Yep, he was drunk_. I took the half-full cup of his hand and finished it for him.

"You're drunk, aren't you?" Casey asked.

"N-No I-I'm…not," he said, stumbling over his words. I had to laugh at the normally philosophical and solid Matt, slurring his words.

I found a water bottle for him and made him sit down in a chair, Andrew's camera in his lap. Casey had put her camera away and shook her head at him.

"How much did you have to drink?" I asked.

"I stopped after my fourth cup," he mumbled, massaging his temples.

"Where's Andrew and Steve?"

"I saw Steve go out back with some football players, and I lost Andrew a while ago."

I heard cheering and laughter and looked over to see Andrew playing beer pong with a big crowd surrounding him. Sure enough, a pretty girl with pink hair was draping herself all over Andrew and I felt my blood begin to boil. My grip tightened slightly on Matt's shoulder.

Matt noticed my sudden reaction and winced at my grip. "Are you okay, Mel? Because you're hurting me."

I let go and said, "Sorry, but I think I'm gonna go out and get some fresh air."

I started to leave but then I asked Casey, "Watch him for me?"

She nodded, and Matt mouthed, "Thank you", before I went outside.

I wasn't jealous. I wasn't jealous. Who am I kidding? I was green with envy. I was sure that people could practically smell it on me (or maybe it was the beer) as I walked past to the snack table. I grabbed another cup and gulped it down.

A tall, muscular boy with dirty blond hair and green eyes walked up to me and asked me to dance with him. I was pretty sure the alcohol was kicking in, since I said yes, when normally, I would've told him off. But tonight, I was going to have fun and forget about these powers and Andrew.

The boy was pretty cute and he grinned happily when I started to sway my hips to the music, my red blouse flowing in the wind. Then, the guy wrapped his hands around my tiny waist and pulled me closer to him. I just went along with it, just drinking and dancing.

However, I noticed his hands start to wander and I moved back. "What are you doing?" I yelled at him over the music and chatter of people.

"I'm just having fun, like you were doing. I saw you; you were liking it," he smiled mischievously.

"That's because I didn't know what you were doing. I'm sorry, but I'm not the one." I proceeded to walk off, but then he yanked me back by my wrist.

"Stop, ow, you're hurting me!" I yelped.

Then, Steve appeared and grabbed my other arm. He glared, "I suggest you let her go and walk away, or things are gonna get ugly. I don't think you need any more of that in your life."

The guy huffed, but let me go and stalked off. I hugged Steve and he asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I never thought I'd say this but I'm glad you're popular."

Steve laughed and looked at me. "Have you been drinking?"

I hipcupped, "Maybe a little."

Steve shook his head at me and took me into the house. After a while, we met up with Matt and they started whispering about how they saw a girl take Andrew upstairs with her. My head was starting to feel a little fuzzy from the alcohol so I missed most of the conversation.

Then, there was this half choked noise from behind one of the doors, and the pink-haired girl from earlier ran past us, pulling chunks of what I presumed was most likely vomit out of her hair.

Steve and I entered the room behind Matt, who was holding Andrew's camera, and low and behold, Andrew was hurrying to buckle up his pants as Matt shoved the camera in his face. He also reeked of vomit and was covered in some of it.

"Get away, Matt!" Andrew yelled as he tried to clean himself off.

The poor thing looked so embarrassed and upset and I felt a twinge of happiness and guilt. I was a little happy that nothing had happened between Andrew and the girl, but I also felt guilty that I hadn't been there to prevent this from happening.

I spoke up, "Guys, stop. Steve, Matt, go away. I got this."

Matt and Steve left me with the camera and went back downstairs. I took Andrew into the bathroom to clean himself off.

As I wet a towel, I asked, "How are you feeling?"

Andrew's face was red and his eyes were stained, but no tears were coming out. "How do you think I feel? This was the biggest night of my life. I finally felt like somebody, and then, I messed it up. On Monday, they're gonna laugh at me."

I wringed the water out of the towel and asked, "Andrew, what was it that your mom always used to tell us?"

He sighed, "That you're stronger than this."

"Exactly. And you are, Andrew. You are one of the strongest people that I know."

I wiped the puke off of the jacket the best I could, and handed another towel to Andrew so he could clean himself up. I walked out of the bathroom and placed it on the back of chair so it could dry. I sat on the bed and placed my head on my knees.

A few minutes later, Andrew walked out of the bathroom and sat next to me. We didn't speak for a while; both of us lost in our own thoughts. My feelings for him, the effect of the alcohol, and this thing that we had gotten so caught up in; they just bubbled up inside me and were threatening to spill over like water in teapot.

Everything just felt so real and immediate that it started to choke me. I felt like I was literally choking on my own feelings because I didn't want to face them yet. But I had to. I had to let them out, and let the chips fall as they may.

Through the walls, we could hear the music, but it suddenly changed from Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" to Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars".

_**If I lay here**_

_**If I just lay here**_

_**Would you lie with me and just forget the world?**_

"Are you okay?" I asked, still staring at the wall.

Andrew was now fidgeting with his camera, checking to make sure that it was still working. "I'm a lot better than before. Thank you for helping me, Mel."

"Your welcome."

_**I don't quite know**_

_**How to say**_

_**How I feel**_

_**Those three words**_

_**Are said too much**_

_**They're not enough**_

"Andrew, I have something to tell you."

Andrew levitated the camera a little distance away from us, and turned to look at me.

I sighed, "I love you."

Andrew didn't say anything at first. Then, he said, "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I didn't know how to tell you. I wanted to tell you the other night, but you were so upset about your mom and dad, that I wasn't sure how you would take it. I just know that if I kept it to myself much longer, then I would've exploded."

Finally, I looked at him, and leaned in to kiss him. He didn't take long to respond and started to kiss me back.

_**Forget what we're told**_

_**Before we get too old**_

_**Show me a garden that's bursting into life**_

_**All that I am**_

_**All that I ever was**_

_**Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see**_

_**I don't know where**_

_**Confused about how as well**_

_**Just know that these things will never change for us at all**_

The kiss got heated pretty fast, and soon, I was in Andrew's lap practically ripping off his shirt. He didn't need to tell me that he felt the same way (it was obvious by the way he was responding to me) but it was still nice to hear him say it.

"I think I've always loved you, Mel," he said as he gasped for breath. His light blue eyes were burning with a fierce intensity that I had never seen before, but at the same time, they were soft and gentle.

I smiled, "Good." Then, I proceeded to kiss him again. I knew we were heading into a place that neither of us had ever been before, but we were going to go together, and that was all that mattered.

But then I remembered something. I slid off his lap and walked over to where the camera had settled. I grabbed it and pushed the 'off' button.

Andrew stared at me confused. "What are you doing?"

"Some things are best kept a secret," I smiled mischievously as I made my way back to the bed.

_**If I lay here**_

_**If I just lay here**_

_**Would you lie with me and just forget the world? **_

**AN: Please Review!**


	7. Chapter 6: Struck by Lightning

**AN: Thank you guys for all the wonderful reviews and fav/story alerts that I have been getting. You guys are great! I'm on spring break now, so another chapter should be out by the end of this week. I was too busy with homework (Algebra and an essay!) to finish and upload this chapter like I wanted too. But here it is! ( To clw317, I'm sorry about not describing my OC. I started writing this story and meant to, but I kind of forgot about that. Mel is about 5'3, has a petite frame, light brown skin, deep brown eyes, and shoulder-length black hair. There is a link to a picture of what she would most likely look like on my profile. Your welcome!) **

**Anyways, enjoy! The title for this chapter was inspired by the upcoming movie starring Chris Colfer (Kurt from Glee!) check out the trailer on youtube (its hilarious!) and that terrible scene from the movie when things aren't so gumdrops and rainbows anymore. **

**Chapter 6**-Struck by Lightning

"_**Life comes at you fast. It runs through your body, and tries to escape and be expressed by any means possible. It's a lot like…lightning."-**_**Chris Colfer.**

When Andrew and I left the party, it was super-late. I called for a cab, since I was totally against him flying me home, and we snuck into the backyard.

Luckily, my window was slightly open, so it would be easy for me to slip in unnoticed. Now, all I had to was reach the balcony. "Andrew, could you give me a lift?" I asked sweetly.

He nodded and wrapped his arms around my waist before we started to slowly lift off of the ground. We landed on the balcony softly, and I grinned at him. Then, I pulled on the handle and opened the window.

It was dark, so I couldn't see, and I lost my footing and fell on the carpet. "Ow," I whispered. Andrew poked his head in, and immediately, someone turned on the lamp by my bed.

I looked up, and my mouth fell open. "Steve! What are you doing here?" I asked as quietly as I could as Andrew helped me up. Andrew's face was red and he was staring at the floor, guiltily. I was staring at my sneaky cousin.

Steve grinned, "I couldn't find you after the party, so I thought that you and Andrew had left. Then, Matt called me and asked me if you two had made it home.

No one had seen you guys since we left, but one of my boys called me, and told me how they heard some animal-like sounds from one of the bedrooms upstairs. I might not be as smart as you, Mel, but I think I'm smart enough to put two and two together."

"_Oh, god_," I mumbled. Steve started laughing at my reaction.

I buried my face in my hands, and Andrew looked like he was waiting to fall through a trap door. This had to be the most embarrassing moment of our lives. What made it worse was the pounding headache that was starting to develop in my head.

Steve stood up, and walked over to us. "Mel, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Hell, you did mankind a favor by turning Andrew into a man tonight."

I dropped my hands and said, "Get out."

Steve held his hands up in surrender and high-fived Andrew as he headed out the door. "Mom and Pop are right next door, so I'd keep the noise level to a minimum if I were you. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about," he whispered to us at the doorway.

I grabbed a pillow and threw it in his direction. Steve let out a hearty chuckle before he finally closed the door. I locked it, and turned to look at Andrew.

"I'm so sorry about that," I said quietly as I walked over and took his hands in mine.

Andrew smiled, "It's okay. I'm actually kinda glad."

I cocked my head. "Why?"

"At least he's not mad. Steve's my friend, and if he got mad at me, then I would've regretted it."

"I guess I could understand that. But you don't regret it now, right? I know I don't."

I leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. Andrew kissed me back with so much confidence and intensity, it nearly scared me. But before things could escalate further, I pulled back.

"My head hurts and I'm really tired," I whined.

Andrew sighed and I walked into the tiny bathroom at the back of the room. I quickly changed into tank top and threw on some shorts. I also wiped the makeup off, and brushed my teeth.

Normally, I wouldn't have taken so much time in the bathroom, since I was getting ready for bed, but things were different now. Andrew and I were different. Things would never be the same, but I was okay with that now.

When I came out, Andrew had discarded Steve's suit, and was wearing some old pajamas that he had left over a while ago. He was staring at the ceiling, a smile on his face. I climbed onto the bed next to him and we snuggled underneath the covers. Andrew lowered himself a little, so that his head was now nestled on my chest.

I started stroking his hair absentmindedly, and kissed his forehead. "I can hear your heartbeat," he mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah?"

"Uh huh. It's nice," he trailed off as he fell into slumber.

I laid there for a while, smiling, until I finally fell asleep as well.

Xxx

Andrew left early the next morning since he had been away from home all night and needed to go check on his mom. I gave him a quick peck on the lips before he zoomed out my window.

When I came downstairs for breakfast, everyone noticed my happy mood, but, except for Steve, they couldn't figure out why.

"Can you believe what a beautiful day it is!" I chimed as I made myself a glass of orange juice.

"Why are you in such a good mood?" My aunt, Vanessa, asked from the stove where she was cooking breakfast. She looked a little like me, with her bright brown eyes and lighter complexion, but Steve looked exactly like my uncle Mike.

"I just feel good about life, that's all," I said quickly.

"Last night, I bet you were feeling good about something else-OW!" Steve yelped when an apple collided with his skull.

I smirked behind my orange juice.

Xxx

The rest of the week went by pretty normally. People were still whispering about what happened between that girl and Andrew, but I would hold his hand and glare at them when we walked past.

On Saturday, Andrew and I hung out at the park, and then, I spent the rest of the day studying and finishing my senior project. A storm started brewing outside, and soon, I would have to unplug my laptop.

Steve came in and plopped down on my bed. "So, no plans with the boyfriend today?"

I kept my face on the computer screen, and shook my head. "No, he had to go home to take care of his mom, but he was supposed to call me an hour ago. I wonder what's keeping him."

All of a sudden, blood started coming out of Steve's nose, and he bolted out of my room. I followed him into his room, and held out a box of Kleenex that I found on his dresser. Steve took one as he started rummaging through his closet.

"What's going on? What's wrong?" I asked

Steve started to put on his winter coat and gloves and said, "I think something's wrong with Andrew. I can feel it."

The vision of Steve in the hospital flashed through my brain, and I said, "Well, be careful."

"I will," he replied before he flew out of his window.

Xxx

It felt that my heart had stopped, that the world had paused around me. I didn't know what to believe or what to do anymore.

I sat in the waiting room next to my aunt, since my uncle was outside on his phone talking to my dad. My aunt had her face buried into my shoulder which was now soaked with tears. My face pretty much matched hers.

Andrew was curled up in a chair on the other side of the room. I didn't speak or look at him the whole time I had been here. He wouldn't tell me what happened, but I was so upset that I didn't even want to know.

After a while, the doctor called us back into the ICU to visit Steve. I gasped when I saw his body badly burned and covered with bandages. There tubes coming out of his mouth and nose, and he looked so much older than 18. _Just like in my vision…_

My aunt threw herself on the bed and started crying. My uncle wrapped his arms around her and just cried along with her. I started at Steve's heart monitor, my eyes following the ripples on the screen.

My cousin, who was like a brother to me, was alive, but in a deep coma that he was not likely to come out of soon. I was grateful that he was alive since it could've turned out much worse. I wanted to cry too, but I just felt that I had to be strong for Steve's parents. I had lost my mom, but they still had their son.

Soon, Casey and Matt showed up, along with about half of the school. Only three visitors were allowed in at a time, so the nurse allowed people to come in and drop off flowers. I just sat out in the hallway next to Andrew, whose gaze didn't falter from Steve's face.

About an hour later, my aunt and uncle told me that they were gonna leave soon, but Andrew still hadn't gone into the room to see Steve yet, and neither had Matt. Matt kept looking at Andrew and I, an angry expression on his face.

I walked into the room and stood at the edge of the bed. Andrew came in after me, followed by Matt and his camera. The door shut and the only noise came from the various monitors hooked up to Steve's body.

Matt spoke up, "What's going on, Andrew? You haven't returned my calls-"

"I've been busy," Andrew blurted out, his eyes looking down at the floor. I stared at my dirty Converses, remaining silent.

"No, you haven't. Seriously, why haven't you been returning my calls?"

"I just didn't feel like talking to you."

"Andrew, turn off the camera."

"No."

"Andrew-"Matt reached for it, but then it lifted higher towards the ceiling almost.

Matt sighed, "Andrew, how do you get struck by lightning during a storm with no recorded lightning strikes? How?" There was an accusatory tone in his voice that I noticed. My eyes darted between the two.

"I don't know."

I said in a low voice, "You know they found Steve in the middle of a field during the storm. Luckily, a trucker stopped on the side of the road and recognized his body and called an ambulance. They thought that he was gonna die before he reached the hospital." I felt the tears coming but I choked them back.

Matt asked, his voice gaining volume, "Why would Steve be in the middle of a field during a lightning storm, Andrew? Why? WHY?"

"I don't know, Matt!" Andrew yelled back.

"You know what? I don't believe you. And, I don't think Mel believes you either."

"I don't know what to believe," I said quietly.

"Andrew, I want you to turn off the camera-"

"Why, Matt?"

"BECAUSE I WANT TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH YOU!" Matt yelled.

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Andrew shot back.

"Guys, stop!" I said stepping in-between them.

"Do you think this is game? What did you do? What'd you do, Andrew?" Matt asked.

Andrew was silent, but he was looking at me. I avoided his gaze.

I said, "Guys, this is not the place for this. I want both of you to get out. I can't-I can't be in the middle of this."

Andrew's camera lowered itself downward and Andrew caught it and left. Matt hovered by the doorway and said, "He's messed up, Mel. He's different. I know that you care about him, and I do too, but he's changed. You have to talk to him. Maybe you can-"

"What, Matt? What can I do? I don't have powers like you guys. I only had a vision about this…"

"Wait, you saw this? You knew that this was gonna happen to Steve?" I sighed and nodded.

He walked up to me and asked, "Well, why didn't you do anything? Why didn't you stop him?"

"He said that he knew something was wrong with Andrew, and so he was going to go and check up on him. I didn't know where he was going or where Andrew was, so I let him go. I'm sorry, Matt."

"Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one who needs it," Matt said before he walked out.

I walked over to Steve, leaned over and whispered, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry about all of this. I don't know what to do. Andrew's upset, Matt's angry, and I can't…I can't handle all of this. I need you, Steve. I miss you. I want my brother back."

By this time, I was full on sobbing and grabbed one of his scarred fingers to hold onto. In my mind, I pictured him as he was before, healthy, happy, and full of life. As I imagined it, I felt heat generate in my fingertips.

It was an odd feeling, and I let go of Steve's hand. But when I looked down at his finger, I gasped.

It was no longer purple and blotchy as it was before. Now, it was completely healed.

Xxx

That night, I couldn't sleep, and when school started on Monday, I was a mess. My aunt and uncle weren't in the best shape either, even though both of them had taken off work. My hair was messy, my clothes were baggy and wrinkled, and there were a few bags under my eyes. For some reason, my chest felt sore, like they had been put through a meat tenderizer, which only made my mood much worse.

Luckily, the teachers had heard about Steve (who hadn't?) and I was excused from most of my classwork for the day. People that I had never even met kept coming up to me and saying how sorry they were for me. I got tired of it so I screamed, "HE'S NOT DEAD, YOU JACKASS!" to one of Steve's ex-girlfriends. Casey and I worked in silence during our class, but I promised that I would call her when I needed to talk to her.

When lunch came around, Matt's words still rung in my head when I found Andrew sitting in our usual spot. He looked so defeated and lonely that it only made me want to start crying again.

I knew what Matt was accusing Andrew of, and I didn't blame him. It was all too coincidental and suspicious. I didn't want to believe that Andrew had nearly killed my cousin, but it sure seemed that way. Maybe that was even the truth, but I still missed him_. I mean, he was my boyfriend after all_.

I waved at Andrew as I made my way up the stands and sat next to him, his camera on his other side. I rested my head on his shoulder and took a deep breath.

Andrew spoke up, emotion clear in his voice, "Mel, you have to believe me. I don't know what I did. I didn't mean to hurt, Steve."

I turned to look at him and he was crying, but he continued, "I-I lost control and I…This thing is becoming a part of me, and I…I miss you. I miss Steve too. You have to believe me, Mel."

I stood up and glared at him. "I do believe you, Andrew. But you nearly killed him and put him in the hospital. My family is already broken enough as it is, and you just made it worse. I told you that if you hurt us, that I couldn't be with you. You're getting out of control and I just…I just can't deal with it anymore."

I ran down the steps and cried all the way to the girls' bathroom.

**AN: Please Review! A few more chapters until the epic finale!**

**Oh, what do think of Mel's (possible) new power?**


	8. Chapter 7: Unexpected

**Chapter 7-**Unexpected

_Two weeks later…_

"I think all this stress isn't good for a girl your age. With your graduation approaching, Steve is in the hospital, and I don't see Andrew around anymore. Did something happen between you guys?" My aunt asked me as she held my hair while I threw up my lunch into the toilet.

I managed to say, "He's become a different person. I don't know how to handle it." Then, my head dived right back into the toilet.

"Well, sometimes, people change for the ones they love. Have you at least tried to talk to him and make up?"

I raised my head slightly. "I've called him numerous times to check on him and apologize, but his dad told me to stop calling their house."

"Maybe I can ask Mike to-"

"NO! Please don't. This is between me and Andrew. Please don't make it any more complicated," I begged before I heaved up the rest of my lunch.

I felt exhausted and bloated, so for the rest of the week, I stayed at home, assuming that I had the flu. Casey stopped by every day to bring me my work, and Matt came by once to talk to me about Andrew's behavior at school.

While I was out, he got into it with a bully, and (telepathically) pulled the guy's teeth out. Plus, he's been kind of a recluse lately and won't talk to anyone. I told Matt to tell him that I missed him and that I was sorry.

When Saturday came around, I still hadn't felt any better, but Matt told me that Andrew said he would come by to see me. However, he wasn't specific, so Andrew gave me quite a shock when I came back from visiting Steve.

Andrew was sitting on my bed with red-stained eyes and he was looking at me with a solemn expression. I closed the door, and sat next to him.

It was silent for a while, until I spoke. "Andrew, I'm worried about you. What's going on?"

"Dad and I got into it the other day. I used my powers against him. Then, I found out that mom's medicine is way too expensive for me to get it. She was coughing up blood again, and Dad didn't do anything about it. But you're right. I'm stronger than this. I'm going to fix this," he said defiantly.

I scooted closer to him, and quietly asked, "Well, what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to make me forget, even if it's for a little while. I need to feel good about something in my life," he whispered before leaning in to kiss me.

His kiss was desperate and laced with emotion and intensity. I immediately responded without thinking about it and the rest of the night was a blur of love, passion, and emotion.

Xxx

When I woke up the next morning, as I expected, Andrew was gone, but that was okay. I smiled and slipped on my purple robe before heading into the bathroom.

I sighed at I stared at myself in the mirror. My dark hair was all over my head, my eyes were way too bright, and there was a small red spot forming on my neck.

Later on, when I tried to put my brand-new jeans on, I couldn't zip them up. _That's odd, I just bought these…_ Then, I thought back, contributing my bloating to…

_Wait a minute. When was the last time I…?_

_Oh, crap. I can't be…can I?_

I went over to the calendar on my dresser and checked. I also reviewed the symptoms of having a period and early signs of pregnancy online.

I gasped when I saw bloating, fatigue, nausea, and cravings on the list. I realized that I had been overeating lately, but I thought that it was just due to stress, since I tend to do that a lot.

When I thought back to how much time had passed since the party, I noticed that it made sense now. Everything made sense now.

_I was pregnant. _

_With Andrew Detmer's baby._

_But there was only one way to find out for sure._

I grabbed my phone off of the nightstand. "Hey, Casey, can I ask you for a favor?"

**AN: Sorry that it is so short, but it's mainly a filler(but important!) chapter. The next one will be longer, and there will be more surprises to come. **

**Poor, Mel, not even 18 yet and already prego. It wasn't my intention at first, but when I was mapping out the sequel's storyline, I had to do it.**

**Please Review!**


	9. Chapter 8: Kryptonite

**Chapter 8**-The Guardians

Casey watched me as I paced back and forth, waiting for the results of the pregnancy test to show up. We had skipped first and second period since we had to go to the drug store to pick up the tests, and now we were in the girls' bathroom next to the cafeteria. Luckily, no one rarely used it since the toilets tended to overflow half the time.

"Would you stop that? You're making me nervous," Casey said as she turned to look at me.

"You're nervous? I'm the one who's knocked up! I'm supposed to be nervous!" Then, I started crying.

Her face softened and she hugged me. "Shh, its gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay, Mel," she cooed in my ear.

Her cell phone's timer went off, which meant that the results should have shown on the tests.

We had set three out, and all of them had little pink plus signs on them. I picked one up and said, "Damnit! Curse you stupid little pink plus sign!"

"Don't blame the little pink plus signs, Mel. It's not their fault that the condom broke," Casey joked.

"Ha, ha. But don't you get it? _My dad is gonna kill me when he finds out._ This is one doodle that can't be undid," I said, smiling a little when I quoted _Juno_.

"That is true, but you barely see your dad. And, it's not about him; it's about you, Andrew, and that unborn baby inside of you. That's what's important. Mel, I'm sure you'll be a great mom," she said as she hugged me again.

I nodded and started crying again as I held up one of the pregnancy tests to my face.

Xxx

Casey promised me that she wouldn't tell anyone, especially Matt, since I wanted to do that on my own. I knew the person I had to tell first was Andrew, since it was his kid after all. I tried to tell him at school, but I couldn't find him, and he wasn't sitting in the bleachers like he normally did during lunch.

When I got home I expected to find him in my room again since I hadn't seen him all day, but he wasn't there. I couldn't find him at school either. Then, the doorbell rang, and since my uncle and aunt were still at work, I answered it.

It was Andrew's father. He smelled like alcohol, his clothes were dirty and wrinkled, and his dark hair was dishelved. "Have you seen Andrew? The boy's not at home, and no one has seen him," he grumbled, his hot alcohol breath warming up my face.

I shook my head. "No, I haven't. I'm sorry, but I-"

He grunted and stalked off. I shut the door, angrily.

_He didn't deserve to be Andrew's father nor my child's grandfather._

Xxx

My aunt and uncle called a little while later, and told me that they were both going to a ceremony out of town, so they would be back late.

Casey invited me to her cousin's party, and Matt was also going to be there, so I decided to go. As I finished getting ready, there was a knock at the door.

When I opened the door, two strange men greeted me. They looked alike, but very different. Both were tall, had the same deep blue eyes, and brown hair. However, the older one had a beard, tan, and wore a dirty t-shirt and Bermuda shorts, and the younger one was wearing a suit and seemed more put together.

"May I help you?" I asked.

"Yes, I am Carter Simmons, and this is my father, Jason. We are looking for Andrew Detmer, Steve Montgomery, and Matt Garetty; you are Steve's cousin, Melanie, right?" the younger one spoke up.

I stepped back a little, shocked that these strangers knew who I was. "Did they do something wrong?"

"Well, last night, Detmer was caught stealing money from a convenience store and taken into custody. He's currently being held at Seattle Grace Medical Center since he's in the ICU. Melanie, he's a threat to humanity, and we need to intervine before this gets ugly," the bearded man, Jason I presumed, continued on.

"Who are you? How do you about us, about them?" I asked confused.

Jason said, "We call ourselves the Guardians, ancient protectors of Earth and humanity. We have also come in contact with a glowing rock and possessed powers, except we've been using ours for good for the past 20 years. We can help Andrew and the others control these powers."

"So why are you here? What do I have to do with this?"

Carter and Jason exchanged looks and Jason nodded his approval before walking off to a black SUV. There were other men in suits surrounding the SUV and stretch limo in front of them.

Carter said, "Listen, you're young, and I know this is a lot to take in, but we need to get to the boy before his father does."

"Do you guys work for the government?"

Carter shook his head. "No, the government doesn't even know we exist. And we want to keep it that way. Do you know what would happen if the world found out about us? About you?"

I did wonder what would happen quite often. We would be locked away somewhere, experimented on, and considered a threat to security, way worse than any "weapon of mass destruction". And I guessed that's what they thought Andrew was, or was heading, anyway. But I couldn't stop him by myself.

"I understand completely. I still have questions, and don't trust you, but you're right. Andrew is a ticking time-bomb waiting to blow, and his dad is the person to set him off. I need to get to him. Like, right now," I urged as I grabbed my jacket and followed Carter to the limo.

He opened the door for me, and all of the guys in the suits piled into the front of the limo or the SUV behind us.

"So how many of you are there?" I asked as I settled in the seat.

Carter was lost in thought and looked up at me. "Oh, I'm not really a part of this. This is just a…favor of sorts to my father. But, there are only three of them; my father, his friend, Jim, and the newbie, Noah. My sister, Leslie, would make four, but her powers aren't as developed as theirs are."

I nodded and continued, "So how long have you guys been stalking us?"

He grimaced, like it wasn't obvious that they hadn't. "Carter, right? I'm not stupid. How else would you know about our names and such if you hadn't been watching us?"

Carter sighed, "Fine, but only for a few weeks. We just thought that you kids would just keep doing what you were doing before, pulling pranks and jokes. But once the boys learned how to fly, we realized how strong you were getting and how quickly they were progressing, especially Andrew."

"To think, I never really realized it myself. So, if Andrew does lose it as you think he will, what am I supposed to do?"

Carter bit his lip and ran his hand through his dark hair. Then, he said, "You know how Superman's weakness is kryptonite?"

I nodded, unsure of where he was going with this.

He reached down under his seat, pulled out a suitcase, and took out a small knife. Then, he took my hand, and placed the knife on my palm.

I stared at him wide eyed. "I don't understand…" I murmured.

Carter spoke, his words making my fragile heart crack in two, "Yes, Melanie. When the time comes, you're going to have to do the unthinkable, because, well, you're Andrew's kryptonite."

**AN: I have been waiting for this chapter since it is the main reason for the title of this story. What do you guys think? Do you think Mel will actually kill Andrew or not? In the next chapter, we will learn of Mel's decision, and a special someone will make an appearance. The Guardians are gonna be an important plot device in the sequel, there will be a villain, and Mel is gonna have the baby, which will also play an important part. So, you guys excited? **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	10. Chapter 9: Knife Through the Heart

**AN: Sorry, it's been almost a month since I last updated. I just needed to take a break from writing since I was falling behind in school. My brain was on overload since this is the longest chapter in this story. But now, school will be over soon, so then, I will put up the last chapter for this sending us into the sequel. Anyways, Enjoy!**

**Chapter 9**-Knife through the Heart

Carter agreed with me that we should ask Matt to help since he was Andrew's cousin. Understandably, Matt would've been very upset with me anyways if I had asked some strangers for help when we could've tried to salvage the situation ourselves. Besides he was a part of this too, and needed to know what was going.

When we reached the house, I practically jumped out of the limo and ran to the front door. I banged on the door and yelled, "Casey, Matt, it's me! Open up!"

Casey's mom opened the door and I brushed past her without saying anything to her. Finally, I found Matt in the kitchen and put my hand on his shoulder to turn his body toward me.

Matt seemed surprised at my urgency and said, "Hey, Mel, you made it! You don't look too happy…"

I pulled him off to the side and whispered, "Matt, Andrew's on the verge of a possible psychotic breakdown, and there are men in suits outside who know what we are and what we can do. I don't trust them, but they said that they could help us before this gets out of hand."

Matt's mouth flew open and asked in a panicked voice, "How did they find out? Who are they? Are they here to arrest us?"

I shook my head. "Trust me, if they worked for the government, we would all be a lab right now, poked and probed, and fed food through a tube in a padded cell. But they haven't done anything yet; they want us to intervene first. They think Andrew is a threat to people."

Matt snorted, "I've been saying that for the past month…"

"Matt, this is serious! They will _kill_ him if they get the chance. _Hell, they might even kill us!_ We don't know what they're capable of, so let's just go to the hospital to talk to him."

Matt seemed surprised at my words. "Andrew's in the hospital? When did that happen?"

"You didn't know? Andrew tried to rob a store last night to get money for _your_ aunt's medicine. Only something went wrong, so he's in the hospital under police surveillance. We have to go and see him now, Matt, before it's too late."

As soon as "late" left my mouth, my stomach started to clench and Matt's hands flew to his head. I walked over to the counter and rubbed my stomach, while taking deep breaths.

Matt groaned in pain, and in the next minute blood began to seep out of his nose. He grabbed a paper towel and held one out of me. I touched my face in confusion, and fresh blood was smeared on my fingers.

"It must be Andrew," I gasped as another tight clench gripped my body.

Matt nodded and wrapped his free arm around me. Casey's family had now piled into the living room and a news broadcast was on, informing viewers of a massive explosion at Seattle Grace Medical Center.

My eyes widened. _That was the hospital where Andrew was. He had to be the one that caused it. But why was I in so much pain?_

I said, "Matt, that's Andrew's hospital. It's getting worse." Matt took that as our cue to leave.

As we walked through the door, Casey asked from behind me, "Where are you guys going?"

Matt turned and said, "Sorry, Case, but I'm taking Mel home. She doesn't…feel good right now. Just stay inside, okay."

Casey seemed uncertain but nodded when my face twisted in pain. I moaned and my eyes started to tear up. In an instant, we were flanked by the men in suits and ushered into the limo.

I sat next to Matt and he held me close to him as another ripple of pain shot through me. More blood was coming out of my nose, so much that Carter had to hand Matt his handkerchief.

"You must be Matt. Funny, you and Andrew don't look related at all," Carter spoke up.

Matt asked in a dark tone, "Who are you and what do you want?"

"That is none of your concern right now, Mr. Garetty. Our main focus as of this moment is Andrew and Melanie. We just want to help you. You see all of the destruction that your cousin has caused? We can help you with that. We can help you learn more about your powers and control them better. We can protect you."

"Why should we trust you?"

"Because we are the only people you can trust right now. You see, Andrew is like a runaway train. Powerful, unstoppable, and unstable; a force of nature. But the train has to stop eventually right? It either hits a brick wall, derails, or falls off a cliff. And as a last resort, something slows it down. That's we need you two to do."

My breathing started to even out and the pain was starting to subside. The blood had even stopped running out of my nose. But was scared me was how it stopped all at once.

"Feeling better, Melanie?" Carter asked his eyes boring into mine.

I nodded and sat up a little straighter. I rubbed my tummy, and cooed, "Its okay. Mommy's okay now."

Matt gasped and stared at me. His eyes darted between my stomach and my face, before he started counting backwards. Then, realization finally hit him.

"So you're…You're really….How? Who? When?" he asked.

I sighed. "Yes, I'm pregnant. It's Andrew's and it happened during the after-party several weeks ago."

"It's ANDREW'S! WHAT?" Matt exclaimed, his face contorted with happiness and shock.

"Matt, calm down. You look ridiculous. I thought Steve told you about us?"

Matt shook his head. "I knew that you guys were together, but I didn't know that you two had already-Wow."

"Well, that explains it," Carter spoke up, making us remember that he was still in the limo with us, listening to our conversation.

We were entering downtown now, and there were people and cars clustered all along the streets as we neared the hospital. I could visibly see the smoke cloud from the explosion rising into the air.

"Explains what?" Matt and I asked in unison.

"The pain you were having. Do you usually get nosebleeds when they use their powers?"

I shook my head. "Only when I get visions."

Carter continued, "My theory is that the boys' powers connect them together. Your power is different from theirs so you're not as connected to them. However, because the baby is half of Andrew and half of you, it has created a connection to him, and therefore, to you as well. So, when he pushes himself too hard, you can feel it, because the baby is inside of you."

Matt and I were silent after that. It made sense as to why I was feeling all of this pain when usually I'm not affected when they exert themselves.

I took a moment to think this over, when the limo suddenly stopped. We were stuck in traffic about a half-block away from the hospital. Emergency vehicles and throngs of people filled the streets, restricting us from going any further. Andrew was here, I could practically feel him coursing through my veins, and Matt looked at me as if he felt the same.

Then, there were screams and something emerged from the smoke cloud. _Andrew! What's that he's holding?_ I inched toward the window to see better, like Matt and Carter were, and gasped. _Or should I say who?_

Matt took action and immediately jumped out of the limo. I followed him and Carter and his men were on our time. Matt was worming his way through the crowd, never taking his eyes off of Andrew's mattered body. He was wearing a hospital gown and bandages covered his feet, arms, and head. His father, I presumed, was dangling in the air by his feet.

I stumbled into someone and lost Matt in the crowd. From where I was though I could see Andrew looking down at us, as if we were all insects. Andrew smirked, as if he knew a secret that we didn't, and I shook my head.

_Don't do it._

_Don't do it._

_Don't do it._

_Please don't do it. _

Sadly, my silent plea was all for nothing, because after that, everything went to hell.

Andrew let go of Richard's foot and I screamed in terror as he proceeded to fall to his impending death. However, Matt flew up and caught him before he hit the ground.

I started to run to them, but Carter yanked me back. I looked up to see Andrew glaring at Matt, a dark look on his face. That's when I realized he wasn't my Andrew anymore; the sweet, shy boy that I had fell in love with.

No, he was now corrupted by something mad and sinister and it scared the crap out me. As Carter and Jason had predicted, he had lost it. He had lost himself to the dark side. But he wasn't evil. _He couldn't be, right?_

Matt and Andrew took off into the sky and Carter ushered me back inside of the limo. The internet was in utter chaos at what was happening since Carter had pulled out his laptop to monitor what was going on.

I was looking out of the window, my eyes frantically searching for any signs of them. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Carter pull out a mysterious disk and insert it into the computer.

I asked, "What is that?"

"It's a program I designed to hack into different programs and sites to delete files, like these videos of Andrew and Matt flying around the Space Needle," Carter answered as he turned the laptop toward me.

The video wasn't playing, but you could clearly make out Andrew and Matt's faces on the screen. Something blurry in the background was coming toward Matt when the image disappeared. It had been deleted.

I sighed in relief and wondered where they were now. The limo was trailing behind the police cars that were heading into the downtown area. The limo stopped since the rest of the street had been barricaded. We couldn't go any further, except on foot.

I unbuckled my seat belt and hurriedly climbed out. I was about to start running when Jason's voice called out "Stop!"

I paused and turned around to face him. Carter had also climbed out of the limo and stood right beside him.

"I have to stop this!" I blurted out.

"No, it's too dangerous for a girl in your…condition to be around something so destructive. We'll handle this; this is what we have trained for," Jason said.

"No, I will handle this! You guys get anywhere near him, and you'll kill him. I know that because you see him as a threat. He will see you the same way, and then, it'll only cause more trouble. Let me go to him. I'm the only person who can get through to him." After that, I took off to the shocked expression on Jason's face and the satisfactory smirk on Carter's.

I really didn't know where I was going, I just felt this power inside of draining all of my strength as well as pushing me forward. My nose was starting to bleed a little, so I knew that I was getting closer. I moved in and out of alleys, streets, people, and cars, getting closer to them with each step I took.

The knife was still in its cover in my back pocket, and I hoped that I wouldn't need to use it. Someone bumped into me and I fell on my butt onto the side of the street. A speeding SWAT truck was coming straight towards me, but someone grabbed me just in time.

I could feel the wind against my face, ruffling the curls in my hair. I clutched onto the stranger's body and felt us begin to descend. My feet touched the ground and my hair was moved away from my face. My mouth fell open and I was pretty sure my heart stopped when I saw who it was.

"STEVE! OHMYGOD, STEVE YOU'RE ALIVE!" I embraced him and cried onto his chest. Steve chuckled and held me for a few seconds before he pulled back and wiped the tears from my face.

I could clearly see him now since we were standing near a lamppost in an alleyway between two skyscrapers. His face was mostly clear except for some scarring and dark spots where his skin was still healing. He was wearing baggy jeans, some sneakers, and a hoodie that said, "Get 'ir done!"

"How are you…what is this…what are you doing here?" I asked as I tried to gain control of my breathing again.

He glanced around, making sure that we were alone, and took my hand. We were running down the street, following the fire truck that had just breezed past us.

"I can't explain it. I don't really know either," he called out to me as we turned a corner. I could feel my connection to Andrew getting stronger by the minute, and I knew we were about a block away.

I continued to try to keep up with him, but Andrew was using his powers so much that it was taking its toll on me. I stopped and so did Steve. Steve's nose was also dripping blood, but he was trying to ignore it. A helicopter flew over our heads and Steve picked me up bridal style. He took off after it, running more now than when he played football.

"Steve, really, you have to tell me. How did you come back?" I yelled in his ear since the street was starting to become clustered with people taking off in the opposite direction as us. They were running away in fear.

Steve was focused on his goal but I could see that the wheels were churning in his head. Then, realization dawned on me. That first night in the hospital when Matt and Andrew got into that fight and I held his hand and cried. I felt the energy transfer from my body to his, and his finger was completely healed.

And every day that I would visit him, I would hold his hand or touch his face. I had been healing him without even realizing it. Well, technically, the body could heal itself, but I just sped up the process. I had healing powers!

I was almost giddy since I felt that I had a useful power after all, but as we inched closer, the pang in my stomach grew stronger. I was going to have to face Andrew, and I was afraid of what the outcome would be. But if I had planned my moves carefully, I could save all of us, even Andrew.

Steve turned another corner and the street was swarmed with cops and SWAT teams. People were all over the place and we would never make it past the cops so Steve maneuvered himself on the other side of the barricade and hid us behind a bus stop.

It was the perfect spot since no one could interfere and we could see everything. I could reach Andrew before the cops could stop me. I saw two figures on the ground and recognized Matt's clothes. Andrew was wearing his hospital gown and covered with bandages, his face red and splotched. Andrew stood up but wobbled a little disoriented.

The cops were yelling at Andrew and Matt to stay down, unsure of what they were going to do next. Matt moved his head and moved a little, but he still stayed down.

Steve shifted behind me, but I threw out my hand to stop him. "No, don't," I yelled out over all the noise.

Matt coughed and yelled, "ANDREW! ANDREW, STOP! PLEASE DON'T HURT THEM!"

Steve tried to move again but I grabbed his arm. "Mel, what are you doing? I have to stop him." Steve tried to stand up but then he clutched his head and sat back down on the concrete.

"Not yet! I have to do it!" I yelled back.

Suddenly, Andrew sent out a powerful shockwave that sent all of the cops, SWAT members, and unlucky passerbys on their backs. Luckily, Steve and I were out of range so it didn't affect us. But, Andrew was out of control and too powerful for his own good.

The Guardians had to be nearby and they were probably waiting for the right opportunity to strike before any of us could anything about it.

This was it. I had to get to him now or this was the end. I gathered all of my strength to pull myself to feet and took off towards Andrew's trembling body.

I could feel that he was on the verge of collapsing, but the surge of power kept him pushing his body to the limit. Andrew cried out and the ground started to tremble beneath my feet, shattering the glass of the buildings around us. I covered my head, and pushed people out of the way as I entered the clearing.

Andrew growled with a fierce intensity, and Matt kept screaming, "ANDREW! ANDREW STOP!" This just caused Andrew to use his powers even more, and the sharp pain my stomach returned.

"ANDREW STOP! PLEASE!" I yelled as loud as I could before legs gave out from under me and I fell on my knees. I coughed, and the blood pouring out of my nose dripped onto the ground.

"ANDREW!" I called out again and fell onto my side. The ground stopped moving, there was a whooshing sound, and Andrew's face was above mine.

I smiled and reached out to cup his cheek with my hand. His eyes were clouded, and he seemed to be struggling with two sides of himself. They were still beautiful to me, and I knew that he could never hurt me. I was the only exception in his eyes. The police had recovered and were moving in on us, but Andrew sent out another shockwave to hold them back.

I could see Matt's eyes on me, wondering what I was doing; if I was really going to get through to him. I leaned up and kissed Andrew softly as my mind weighed out the options in front of me.

We could run away together and be the family that we always wanted.

I could just keep kissing him and let the police get ahold of us.

Let the Guardians kill us instead.

Or, my final option: kill Andrew myself.

I continued to kiss Andrew deeply to distract him from what I was doing, where my hand was pulling out the knife from my pocket. I slipped off the cover, and pulled back from Andrew.

My eyes began to tear up, and I whispered, "I'm sorry", before I plunged the knife deep into his back.

Andrew's eyes widened with shock at what was happening and hurt at my betrayal. I pulled out the knife and hugged his body, using every last ounce of energy I had left. Finally, Andrew's eyes drooped and they closed before his body went limp.

It was completely silent except for the sound of the chopper above since no one had expected what I had done. It was a last-minute decision and I rolled onto my back, breathing in relief that it was over.

I was on the verge of unconsciousness and I reached out to take Andrew's hand. The last image I saw before I passed out was Steve's confused face.

Xxx

When I woke up, I noticed that I was back inside the limo. I wasn't alone though. I was nestled on Steve's lap with my head lying on his chest. Matt was curled up on the seat on the other side, staring out of the window. Carter was texting frantically on his Blackberry.

I shifted in Steve's lap and he announced, "She's awake."

"Where are we? What happened?" I asked groggily.

Carter said, "We're on our way to the airport, where a private jet is waiting for us. We need to get out of Seattle pronto. Most of the evidence from tonight's events has been erased, and my team has started spreading rumors that it was a publicity stunt."

This time, Matt joined in the conversation. "Publicity stunt? How is that going to fool anybody? I was hovering in the air with people about 10 feet away from, filming everything."

Carter replied, "Remember the balloon boy? The media ate it up thinking that a real boy was in that balloon for so long, when it turned out that the boy had just been hiding away in the house. Well, the same thing is happening here. In their eyes, it seems real, but it's not. It's an illusion. A trick of the mind. In other words, we just mind-fucked all of Seattle and maybe Washington State."

I asked in quiet voice, "What did you with Andrew's body?"

"We are going to dispose of it as soon as possible. We can't leave anything to chance," Carter answered, never taking his eyes away from his phone.

I sat up, fully awake. "NO! You can't do that!"

"Why not, Melanie? Andrew's dead. You killed him, remember?"

I bit my lip and looked down at my lap. I looked up at Steve, who cocked his head to the side. "There's something you're not telling us, Mel. I can see it."

All of the guys stared at me, waiting for me to open my mouth.

So I did. "Okay, I did stab Andrew like you asked me to. But I missed his heart."

They all blinked at me in surprise.

I blurted out, "Andrew's not dead."

**AN: SURPRISE! You really thought that I would just let Andrew die? Originally, I was going to kill him off just like in the movie, but then, I watched Spiderman 3 with a friend, and we argued about who was better, Spiderman or Venom. This inspired me when I started writing in Andrew's POV in the sequel, which doesn't have a name yet. Any suggestions? And you know what to do, REVIEW! **


	11. Chapter 10: The End?

**Chapter 10**-The End?

An hour later, we ended up outside of Seattle at a small airport. There were two private jets waiting and I froze.

Carter hung up his phone and the limo's doors opened. The guys in suits pulled us out and started dragging us in different directions. I shrugged off the guy holding me and ran up to Carter, who was in a heated argument with his father.

"Carter!" I yelled to get his attention.

He turned to look at me and I slapped him across his face. He blinked and stared at me in shock.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Where are taking Matt and Steve? Where are you taking me?" I demanded.

Jason placed a hand on my shoulder but I slapped it away. Jason sighed, "Carter is taking you to Tampa, Florida. We think that's its best for you to lay low for awhile until this blows over. Plus, I checked Andrew's pulse and like you said, he's still alive. But highly unconscious. Whatever you did to him put him in some sort of coma-like state, and when he awakens, it won't be pretty. It's for the best."

"No its not! It's best when he's around people that he knows! Like me!"

Carter interjected, "This isn't about you, Melanie. Andrew is too dangerous and powerful for his own good. My dad has offered to help him, as well as Matt and Steve, control their powers better. We're taking them someplace far away from here. You have to trust us."

I looked over at Matt and Steve, who were standing near the entrance of one of the jets. I glanced back and forth between them, and then I sighed, defeated.

"Fine, I trust you. For now," I mumbled.

Then, I walked over to Matt and Steve and hugged them each for a long time.

Steve whispered to me, "It's gonna be okay, Mel. We're gonna get through this. Together, all of us. You'll see."

I pulled back, my eyes wet with tears, "I believe you. But what if Andrew can't be saved? What if we can't bring him back? Then, what will we do?"

Steve sighed, "I don't know. But we'll try to figure it out."

One of the suits tapped me on the shoulder and told us that we had to leave now before the police caught up to us. I kissed Matt and Steve on their cheeks and hugged them one last time.

Carter beckoned me over to him and I followed him up the steps into his jet. It was smaller than I thought, but cozy. I flopped down onto one of the leather seats near the window. Carter sat in the seat facing me, but I avoided his eyes.

"Don't say anything," I growled as the doors closed and the engine started up.

Carter sighed, and started texting on his cell phone.

I looked out the window and waved at Matt and Steve as the jet started to head toward the runway.

When we started to ascend into the night sky, that's when the waterworks started. I placed a hand on my stomach and hoped that in the end, Steve would be right.

**AN: Sorry it took so long for me to update! First, I had to catch up on my schoolwork, then I had finals right afterwards. After that, my sister's birthday was coming up, and I had to get ready to move. But now everything has calmed down a bit so I can get back to writing again. The sequel WILL be up in the next couple of days, I just have to rewrite some stuff. Anyways, review AND I STILL need a title suggestion for the sequel story!**


	12. Chapter 11: SequelDecode

**Author's Note: **_**The sequel to Kryptonite is now up! It is called Decode. It follows Melanie's journey post-Chronicle. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as you enjoyed this one. **_

_**-jaa162**_


End file.
